“My work with maps began as soon as I moved to Toronto. As I navigated the city I was struck by the grid-like quality of the Toronto streets, the intersections and interwoven connections. The imposing urban sprawl I reduced in size to a more legible scale, neighborhoods became bracelets and rings, adornment objects as well as informative objects. I wanted the wearer to engage with their neighborhoods, with transparent acrylic pieces wrapped around their hands and fingers like tattoos, their walking history etched into their skin. The gold and silver dotted paths or the walk to work became the adornment object.”

I’m still uploading pictures and answering emails – if I haven’t gotten to you yet don’t worry, you will hear from me soon – I came back to a full inbox! Over the next couple of weeks I will share some of my images with you, hoping that you will be able to feel the same calm and serenity that I did while I was there. Have a great day!

Red Butterfly Evening Bag, nickel silver, sterling silver, acrylic

Retro Evening Bag, nickel silver, sterling silver, acrylic

Tokyo Evening Bag, nickel silver, sterling silver, acrylic

Adelson hand carves the acrylic brooches and handbag handles.  The artist, who has a degree in jewelry design and metalsmithing from Tyler School of Art, also has a full line of acrylic jewelry and is a new exhibitor in this weekend’s Paradise City Arts Show in Philadelphia.  Worth a look-see if you are in the area.

Interested in learning how to work with plastic?  She’s got a book too. Check it out below.

The Art of Jewelry: Plastic & Resin: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration

Today I’m taking you along on my learning curve as I prepare for new offerings on DAM. I hope you will indulge me from time to time as I play with some of the software tools I’m testing in my effort to move things along on the site – thank you in advance for your patience!

Here’s a brief audio slide show of Rui Kikuchi’s work (5 images, 35 seconds). If you have difficulty with the audio please let me know – I’m still working on the sound quality. Feedback is always welcome.

Rue Kikuchi, Physis Pendant, steel nails, sterling silver

Bauble-licious, angle stitching, embellishing, seed beads, acrylic beads

The exhibition, curated by Susan Kasson Sloan, celebrates the transformation of plastics into wearable art. The work is bold, innovative and thought provoking. With extensive portfolios brimming with plastics that have been beaded (Golden), altered (Donald) and computer generated with 3D software (Tammaro), these three artists top my list of favorites to watch from the exhibit.

Rio, acrylic beads

Suzanne Golden is playful and passionate and those traits show up repeatedly in her work (seen above). A visit to her website will fill you up with primary colors and repeating patterns. Read an interview with the artist here.

Anthony Tammaro (seen below) creates couture art and production jewelry using computer aided design and manufacturing processes, describing the work as “technology meets expression.”

For more from Tammaro, visit his Flickr Photostream and Crafthaus portfolio.

Tammaro with his Quad Spiral neckpiece, sls nylon

Coil Cuffs

Although mostly plastic, Mary Donald’s discarded found object jewelry has a decidedly organic feel. Her artist statement is worth reading too, beginning with this paragraph: “With the eye of a jeweler, I practice the art of hunting and gathering. Like an urban aborigine, I collect a variety of materials and even detritus plus remnants and miscellany from natural and other resources, carrying it back to the studio where it’s examined and then used to create body adornment, objects and sculpture. It’s hard to say sometimes, exactly, what this work is all about. It’s about so many things and nothing at all; I’ve come to think of it as a meditation on aesthetics, with a particular regard for the natural world.”

Visit her website to see more from her Rubber portfolio and Wood/Plastics porfolio.

Minus 143, rubber, nylon, silver

Assorted rings and objects, rubber, nylon, argentium silver

The exhibit at Facere runs from April 28-May 17, 2010

New art material? If you try it let me know how it turns out!

Test sheets of bioplastic hanging to dry

via Shapeways

SMACK! Brooch, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

The Kiss, doll parts, sterling silver

“Whether revered or despised, there are few who feel neutral about the plastic princess. I am fascinated with who she is as a cultural icon and the vast impact she has had on our society.” Margaux Lange

Goosebumps Hand Brooch, doll parts, sterling silver

Lange takes Barbie’s best bits and combines them with resin and sterling silver, creating whimsical, nostalgic, humorous configurations that offer collectors a unique way to remember their childhoods.

Quote Bubble Brooches, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

She began using Barbie in her art in high school, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she started to deconstruct (or re-member as she likes to call it) the iconic doll and use the parts in her jewelry.

If The Shoe Fits Bracelet, doll shoes

Senses Bracelet, doll parts, pigmented resin, sterling silver

Fun. Fashionable. And a trip down memory lane.  Do go and take a look at her whole portfolio and be sure to visit her blog where you can get a good sense of the work that goes into this jewelry.

Winged Neckpiece, doll arms, sterling silver

Margaux Lange and friends

I also enjoy the funny juxtaposition of wearing the body, on the body. Barbie has become the accessory instead of being accessorized. I take pleasure in the contrast and contradiction of mass-produced materials transformed and revealed as handmade, wearable works of Art.” Margaux Lange

When I was researching Lange I was surprised to see that many people find the jewelry creepy and ‘out of a horror movie’. Really? Lange has a great eye, appealing sense of humor and all of her skills blend beautifully. What’s creepy is how long women have held on to the idea that Barbie had the perfect body. THAT’S creepy. Lange’s jewelry? Smashing and fashionable!

Lange’s Etsy shop here.

Lange’s blog Midge’s Mind where you can see many of her pieces in progress – the resin, the metalsmith details, the bins and bins of Barbie bits and pieces.  Wow…

Read an interview with the artist here. Another interview here.

Couldn’t resist including Lange’s Barbie coat hanger ornament.  Click on the thumbnail below to see more ornaments.

The Sociable Choice, bracelet, silicone rubber and grommets

Starrett’s RubberMADE collection of silicone rubber and sterling silver jewelry doesn’t make me think about social standards.  It simply makes me want to take a big, juicy bite out of life.  I see sexy shapes, delicious colors and art that begs to be touched.  Just a little.  Maybe a lot.

The Sociable Choice, bracelet, silicone rubber and grommets

You Don’t Have To Be, ring, silicone, sterling silver

Instant Corsage, neckpiece silicone rubber, sterling silver and magnets

Domestic Goddess, neckpiece, silicone rubber and grommets

Starrett, who earned an MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, is an assistant professor of metals/jewelry at Winthrop University in South Carolina.  Read more about her and the inspiration behind RubberMADE  here.

Acedia, 2009, polystyrene, sequins, stainless steel pins, 37″x10″x9″

Acedia, detail

Interested in the textures created by the sequins when pinned to the polystyrene forms, Barbaccia became attracted to the simplicity of the sequin as an art material.  While bold colors distinguish many of the pieces, others draw you in with undulating, slug-like forms that look as though they might slither away if unwatched for a moment.

Infinity, 2007, polystyrene, sequins, stainless steel pins, 9″x15″x9″

Barbaccia, who studied at the Tyler School of Fine Art in Philadelphia, concentrated largely on representational drawing and painting for many years, eventually adding encaustic works on plaster. In 2003 his work shifted again and in an effort to emphasize craftsmanship and meaning, he began creating sculptures that utilize the most basic materials. Equally compelling is the D.C. area artist’s Integration Series – a group of mixed media sculptures that amuse, shock and provoke. You can view them, and his encaustic work on the website.

Euphoria, 2008, polystyrene, sequins, stainless steel pins, 17″x21″x21″

Euphoria, detail

“My work is the product of vision. What you see is essentially what you get. There are no hidden agendas or secret meanings. The process of creating extends past the initial vision and manifests like waves spreading out from a stone dropped in water consisting of everything and everyone else; including the artist’s involvement.”

Barbaccia’s work can be seen at Neptune Gallery

Read an article about the artist here

Yu’s life-size figures are clear PVC plastic (the type of plastic used to make soda bottles) and clay.  Working from sketches, she sculpts the human form in clay, makes a plaster cast and then lays sheets of PVC on the mold, heating the plastic so it can take form around the plaster mold.

Her work resonates with me. I understand. I have been that invisible girl/child/woman at different times in my life – and you? Have you ever felt invisible in this fast-paced world?

My works are about people who, instead of getting along with others, choose to keep a distance from them, and be invisible or be left alone unconcerned. Instead of trying to fit into the world, they climb into a space of their own and reject other people’s intrusions. Jin Young Yu

Read an interview with the artist on Arrested Motion

Work in progress pictures here

More images at Union Gallery

Maelstrom Brooch, resins, 3.5″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″

Digitalis Brooch, resins, 3″ x 2″ x 6″

Digitalis Brooch, resins, 3″ x 2″ x 6″

“Once I model my work on a computer it is produced by using a machine that 3D prints or builds the pieces layer by layer, an additive process that has always reminded me of the growth of tree rings.”

Spadix Neckpiece, gypsum resin, 14″ x 14″ x 3″

Turitella Brooch, resins, 3′ x 2′ x 6′

Turitella Brooch, resins, 3′ x 2′ x 6′